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FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2020
The Observer
Fratelli Tutti Gives Us Much to Ponder
T
hroughout his ponticate Pope Francis has demonstrated a special aection for St. Francis of Assisi. When he was elected pope he took the name of Francis to remind the world of the faithful simplicity lived by Francis. But the Holy Father has also held up St. Francis as a model for the modern world in its dealings with the poor and the needy. Earlier this month, Pope Francis travelled to Assisi and, in keeping with this particular devotion to St. Francis, the pope used that visit to issue an encyclical letter entitled Fratelli Tutti . Pope Francis noted that he devoted this encyclical letter to fraternity and social friendship ( FT , 2). Encyclical letters are some of the highest form of teaching used by the popes and directed to the whole Church. As such they merit our attention and a reading with an open heart that seeks to have our faith guided by the successor to St. Peter. With that in mind, let's look at a pair of the many observations oered by the Holy Father in this wide-ranging document. Pope Francis, early in the encyclical, expresses concern for the path that he sees the modern world taking. He identies, for example, the growing loss of connection of the current generation with its past. He writes, A kind of 'deconstructionism,' whereby human freedom claims to create everything starting from zero, is making headway in today's culture. The one thing it leaves in its wake is the drive to limitless consumption and expressions of empty individualism ( FT , 13). One of the lessons of faith and of human experience is that we never stand or exist alone. We are a part of the chain and continuum of history. That is true in the relation of each person to his or her family from which they emerge. But it is also the basis for culture that binds people together in common thought and practices. That chain means that we need to acknowledge and study the experiences, the structures and the wisdom that have been acquired and accumulated before us. That acknowledgement is not acritical of course. Prior ages were as damaged and infected by sin as is our own today. Some of those experiences might have been deeply sinful, like slavery for example or the repression of religious liberty. Others, however, such as the respect for the rule of law and for the need for God to guide human existence, have rightly stood the test of time. As Pope Francis notes, if we do not respect our past we are left adrift. And modern society seeks to ll that emptiness, from God and culture, with the search for the goods of this world and with a misguided sense of freedom. The Holy Father also remarks about the impact that modern communication has upon us. He talks about the instant and worldwide interconnection but also the immediacy of information and opinions that keep us from reection and, at times, from charity in our comments. He states, As silence and careful listening disappear, replaced by a frenzy of texting, this basic structure of sage human communication is at risk. A new lifestyle is emerging where we create only what we want and exclude all that we cannot control or know instantly and supercially. Does this not correctly identify a common danger to personal interaction that is so easy to see? People addicted to their cell phones and ignoring the people around them? The use of the internet not to highlight the truth but to shape perceptions and opinions for economic or political gain? These are just two of the observations found in the pope's letter. His plea is for greater eorts to achieve the unity and fraternity that should mark us all as brothers and sisters of Christ, sharing with Him our Father in heaven. Fratelli Tutti gives us much to ponder about how to live out our faith in Jesus Christ. BY BISHOP DAVID J. MALLOY
From the introduction of the encyclical "Fratelli Tutti," Oct. 8, the Vatican, part 1
1. FRATELLI TUTTI." With these words, St. Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the avor of the Gospel. Of the counsels Francis oered, I would like to select the one in which he calls for a love that transcends the barriers of geography and distance, and declares blessed all those who love their brother as much when he is far away from him as when he is with him. In his simple and direct way, St. Francis expressed the essence of a fraternal openness that allows us to acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives. 2. This saint of fraternal love, simplicity and joy, who inspired me to write the encyclical Laudato Si' , prompts me once more to devote this new encyclical to fraternity and social friendship. Francis felt himself a brother to the sun, the sea and the wind, yet he knew that he was even closer to those of his own esh. Wherever he went, he sowed seeds of peace and walked alongside the poor, the abandoned, the inrm and the outcast, the least of his brothers and sisters.
Without borders
3. There is an episode in the life of Saint Francis that shows his openness of heart, which knew no bounds and transcended dierences of origin, nationality, color or religion. It was his visit to Sultan Malik-el-Kamil, in Egypt, which entailed considerable hardship, given Francis' poverty, his scarce resources, the great distances to be traveled and their dierences of language, culture and religion. That journey, undertaken at the time of the Crusades, further demonstrated the breadth and grandeur of his love, which sought to embrace everyone. Francis' delity to his Lord was commensurate with his love for his brothers and sisters. Unconcerned for the hardships and dangers involved, Francis went to meet the Sultan with the same attitude that he instilled in his disciples: if they found themselves among the Saracens and other nonbelievers, without renouncing their own identity they were not to engage in arguments or disputes, but to be subject to every human creature for God's sake. In the context of the times, this was an extraordinary recommendation. We are impressed that some 800 years ago St. Francis urged that all forms of hostility or conict be avoided and that a humble and fraternal subjection be shown to those who did not share his faith.
On Fraternity and Social Friendship
BY POPE FRANCIS
(CNS photo/C. Peri via Reuters)
W
e are a part of the chain and continuum of history. ... As Pope Francis notes, if we do not respect our past we are left adrift.
F
rancis felt himself a brother to the sun, the sea and the wind, yet he knew that he was even closer to those of his own flesh.
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